


from oceans to sewers

by rocket_rach



Series: secrets we keep (to keep you safe) [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Characters to be added, Costumes are in this au!, Dick is mermaid, Family, Fantasy AU, Gen, also bruce is rich so I can write whatever I want and it's plausible, based off of art!, batfamily, its like modern fantasy, this will definitely grow out of my control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 03:04:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15233952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocket_rach/pseuds/rocket_rach
Summary: Bruce takes in a merboy he finds at a circus; ends up fighting a giant crocodile in a sewer





	from oceans to sewers

The city of Gotham is older than the United States. Founded by French fur traders and hunters, the city was one of the first places where plans for the American revolution began (not that the history books would ever claim such a cesspool of crime as the epicenter for justice) and where many modern-day infrastructures were tested. One of those infrastructures being sewers. Since the city was a test subject for massive sewer grids, there are many old, disused sewer tunnels that lie beneath the layers of cobblestone and asphalt. Of these many tunnels and channels, some still are filled with human waste, water, or simply are dry after decades of rerouting. Batman knows just about every sewer tunnel in the city and outer city limits, which made changing his patrol paths relatively easy after he took in a young, suddenly orphaned merboy from the circus.

The boy was bright, almost _too bright_. Dick Grayson entered Bruce Wayne’s life like that lightning bolt. Sharp, blue, and burning with potential, he quickly wrapped the socialite billionaire around his finger. It hadn’t taken long before the young merboy had surfaced in the pool where the cave’s waterfall emptied out.

Bruce hadn’t even noticed at first. He’d begun undressing, removing his cowl first so his darker personality would be quiet for the rest of the night. Alfred was upstairs, he assumed, checking on the young boy. Since Dick’s arrival, the manor had gone many renovations. A complex system of pipes and tunnels were installed from the ocean that the manor overlooked. Bruce had installed buoys that hid the massive nets that gave Dick room to swim yet kept him secure from any threats. Bruce had assumed that the system of piping and tunnels would be enough to keep the boy distracted from the cave lying underneath the manor’s ancient foundation. 

But it wasn’t until a small, confused, melodic voice spoke up did Bruce realized he’d been caught. He turned slowly, looking at the eyes that peered at him from the pool of water. Dick’s dark hair was soaking, his bangs just brushing the tops of his eyes.

“Bruce?” Dick spoke.

Heaving a sigh, Bruce turned. “Hi, Dick.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a cave.”

And that had been that.

Now, Bruce and Dick had been patrolling Gotham for two years now. Dick’s tail had grown, his young scales shifting from their faint green shimmer they had been into his adult, light blue color. Alfred, Dick, and Bruce had spent many days designing a costume that would allow Dick the ability to perform his acrobatic feats underwater, but also protect him from most projectile attacks. Tonight, found the dynamic duo buried deep within Gotham’s sewers, Dick grimacing as they waded through the city’s ancient waste.

“I still think we should have moved to Venice,” Dick grumbled.

He waited for Batman to respond as they splashed through brown water.

“Just think about it; an entire city built on water? Patrol would be so much easier. You could still swing as Batman from above and I could swim below. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about wading through poop. Which is gross. Did I mention that there are plenty of clean sewers we could have used tonight?” Robin pushed himself to Bruce’s right. “Like, that run _pretty much_ parallel to these lines.”

“If by parallel you mean a mile out of our way, then sure,” Batman rumbled back. “Go see if there’s any trace of Croc down below.”

Robin groaned, but ever the soldier, followed Batman’s orders and dove. The muddy waters made it hard for him to see, but his aquatic abilities made it easier nonetheless. He swam about fifty feet ahead of Bruce. Glancing at the silt on the bottom of the sewer tunnel, Robin found his answer. He surfaced, waving to Batman.

“Hey, B-man! I fou¬-“And Robin was promptly yanked under.

Robin flailed, kicking out as he fought his assailant. Above the surface, Batman was charging forward, holding taser bombs tightly. He moved one, pulling a rebreather from his belt and placing it on his lips before diving into the fray. As he swam down, he saw Killer Croc holding his _son_ – no, he was in costume, Dick was his _partner_ \- with two hands and pulling his boy in two different directions. Snarling, Bruce pulled back his fist and crashed it into Croc’s teeth. Croc howled, a surge of bubbles erupting from his bloody mouth as Batman grabbed Robin and flung him to the surface. Once he was sure that Robin was far enough away, Batman triggered his taser bombs and threw them through the water as hard as he could. Electricity rocketed through the water, tasing Croc. Batman’s suit, line with Kevlar and rubber and many other life preserving materials, protected him as he swam towards Robin. Robin had removed himself from the sewage when he saw the bombs in Batman’s hands, and was sitting on the concrete walkways that surrounded the sewer tunnel. He flicked his tail idly.

“I know you can afford Venice. You could probably buy Venice if you wanted to.”

“I’ve thought about it,” Batman rumbled as he tossed an ice bomb into the water, freezing Croc and the water solid. “But I don’t think historic cities are a tax write off.”

“Wait- _what_? You’ve seriously thought about _buying_ Venice?” Robin gasped as Batman picked him up, carrying him to the non-frozen section of the sewer line.

Batman simply called Gordon, a small grin tugging at his lips as Robin stared slack-jawed at him.

**Author's Note:**

> This is (possibly) is just a one shot for now, but it will be part of a larger series!   
> This whole au that I'm cooking up is based off of kevin's bomb fucking art (which made me want to write so bad that it straight up murdered my writer's block [tysm] also you should go follow them on tumblr) which can be found right down below
> 
> https://i-always-hated-capes.tumblr.com/post/175582955958/i-drew-some-mers-and-a-selkie-for-all-your-mer
> 
> Will this include the whole batfamily at the end? probably


End file.
